1-2-3 AI Score · The 13 inspection categories

1-2-3 AI Score · Inspection rubric

The 13 categories we inspect, and what each one measures

This is the full rubric. Each tier covers more categories at greater depth. The methodology is documented, auditable, and the same across every business we score.

1. Data Foundation 11%

Is your business data clean, accessible, and queryable? The single highest-impact category — AI needs structured data to do useful work.

Sub-themes: existence (do the records exist?) · accessibility (CSV export, APIs, webhooks) · cleanliness (formats, dedup) · real-time posture (visible now, not next month)

2. Integration Density 11%

Do your tools talk to each other or live in silos? The bridge that turns multiple SaaS subscriptions into one operating spine.

Sub-themes: native integrations between tools · iPaaS layer (Zapier/n8n/Make) · SSO coverage · webhook density · unified customer ID across systems

3. Tool Stack Modernity 9%

POS, CRM, phones, comms — current-gen or legacy? Legacy tools often can't talk to AI without expensive integration work.

Sub-themes: POS / CRM / phone system / payment processing / accounting / scheduling / inventory / marketing automation / project management

4. Strategic Alignment 9%

Mission, vision, goals — documented and known by the team? An SMB can have great data and great tools but still fail at AI if leadership hasn't articulated WHERE the business is going.

Sub-themes: written mission · 3-5 year vision · annual goals · department OKRs · quarterly review cadence · customer commitment clarity · decision-rights matrix

5. Marketing Maturity 9%

Paid ads, attribution, CAC tracking, content cadence. The funnel-side of the AI-readiness picture.

Sub-themes: paid ads on multiple platforms · UTM + conversion tracking · per-channel CAC · content cadence · email list size + engagement · SEO + GMB presence

6. Physical Infrastructure 8%

Cameras, IoT sensors, access control, signage, AV. The hardware side that Sentinels read from.

Sub-themes: camera count + coverage · IoT sensor deployment · access control modernity · digital signage · distributed audio · Wi-Fi grade · network monitoring

7. Team AI Fluency 7%

Does anyone on your team use AI tools today? Internal fluency predicts how fast adoption sticks when you deploy.

Sub-themes: daily AI tool usage · automation deployed in last 90 days · designated AI person · shared prompts/templates · AI training in last 12 months · documented AI policy

8. Sales Pipeline Visibility 7%

Stages defined, win/loss tracked, forecast updated. Can your AI agent see the funnel and act on it?

Sub-themes: pipeline stages · time-in-stage · win/loss reasons · lead source per opportunity · close rate per channel · rep performance dashboard · weekly forecast

9. Operations Reporting 7%

Reporting cadence, manual vs automated, dashboards. How fast you can see what's happening.

Sub-themes: weekly ops report · auto vs hand-built · KPI dashboard < 5sec · variance reports · staff productivity visibility · vendor performance tracking

10. Customer Service Posture 6%

Response time, channel coverage, ticket resolution. Where the Customer Service Agent fits.

Sub-themes: first-response time · channel coverage · ticket system · after-hours strategy · CSAT / NPS · repeat-issue tracking · SLA

11. Process Documentation 6%

SOPs, runbooks, escalation rules. AI agents need written rules to follow consistently.

Sub-themes: SOPs for top recurring tasks · runbooks for failure modes · onboarding checklist · customer service scripts · escalation matrix · vendor contact list

12. Telecom Maturity 5%

Phone systems, IVR, voice + SMS infra, call routing. The communications spine that AI agents talk through.

Sub-themes: cloud VoIP vs legacy · IVR sophistication · SMS capability · call recording · transcription · missed-call recovery · bilingual support

13. Compliance Posture 5%

PCI, HIPAA, SOC2, CCPA, industry-specific frameworks. Constraints that shape which AI tools you can use.

Sub-themes: PCI compliance state · HIPAA posture · SOC2 audit history · CCPA/GDPR data handling · industry frameworks · insurance · incident response plan

How the score is calculated

Same formula every tier. Auditable.

Per-category scoring

Each category contains 1–40 binary or 3-way sub-questions depending on tier. Each sub-question has a point value. We sum the points earned, divide by the max points possible, and multiply by the category's weighted contribution (e.g., Data Foundation = 11% = max 110 points out of 1000).

Total score & grade

Sum of all category contributions = 0–1000 total score. Grade thresholds: F (0–199), D (200–399), C (400–599), B (600–799), A (800–949), A+ (950+). Industry benchmark percentile included at Silver and above — "you scored higher than 73% of similar restaurants."

Tier inspection depth

How many of the 13 each tier covers

3

Lite
10 pts
3 core categories

5

Bronze
50 pts
5 categories

8

Silver
100 pts
8 categories

13

Gold
300 pts
All categories

13+

Platinum
500 pts
+ sub-cats

See side-by-side feature comparison →

Ready to be scored against the rubric?

Lite Scan is free and covers the 3 most important categories (Data, Integration, Tool Stack). If you want more depth, pick a higher tier — every paid tier credits 50% forward to the AI Audit.

Free Lite Scan Compare tiers

13 categories scored.
Same rubric every tier.
Documented + auditable.

What we inspect